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Douglas, Alabama

22 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1885 and the latest in 1984. It stands in the Douglas census division. It lies in ZIP code area 35980. The Survey maps it on the Douglas quadrangle. 761 people lived here at the 2020 count. It stands 945 feet above sea level.

Douglas within Marshall County

Population over time

3 figures

Douglas grew from 201 to 761 between 1970 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
1970201
2010744
2020761+17 (+2%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

13 surveys from 22 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

66 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 66 fires within 5 miles of Douglas between 1997 and 2019, burning about 299 acres in total. None started naturally. 9 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Missing data/not specified/undetermined31
Debris and open burning21
Arson/incendiarism9
Equipment and vehicle use3
Recreation and ceremony2

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 September 1998Arson/incendiarism35 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
8 September 1998Arson/incendiarism4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
6 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry CommissionNER-20140906-001
6 September 1998Arson/incendiarism3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
28 September 2016Missing data/not specified/undetermined3.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commission20160928-10
26 September 2014Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreAlabama Forestry CommissionNOR-20140926-001
24 September 2005Arson/incendiarism4.0 acresAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named
23 September 2010Debris and open burningunder an acreAlabama Forestry Commissionnot named

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Marshall County

Storms near this place

37 since 1997

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Douglas in 37 storm reports between 1997 and 2025: 25 thunderstorm wind, 7 hail, 2 flash flood, 1 flood. The reports record 1 injury. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2017Thunderstorm WindDouglas1 hurt, $200A tree was knocked down onto a mobile home on Plunkett Drive.
February 2025Thunderstorm WindDouglas$20,000Trees and powerlines were knocked down along Boaz Highway from the county line to New Clear Creek Road. Time estimated by radar.
June 2010Thunderstorm WindDouglas$20,000Several trees and some power lines were blown down on many roads between Douglas and Horton. Some of the roads affected included: Whitten Road, Oak Grove, Jolley Drive, Strange Road, and Highway 75 S. Also, a tree was blown down on a mobile home on Horton-Nixon Chapel Drive.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindDouglas$18,000Trees were knocked down. Tree limbs and tree tops snapped off on Formby and Bethlehem roads behind Douglas High School. A chicken house was also destroyed on Formby road.
August 2013Thunderstorm WindDouglas$10,000A few 12 inch diameter trees were sheared at between 70 and 80 feet high off of the ground by thunderstorm winds.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindDouglas$10,000Treetops were snapped from trees and limbs were blown from trees. Some structural damage was reported.
May 2009Flash FloodDouglas$10,000Heavy rainfall from strong to severe thunderstorms caused several roads to be flooded in eastern portions of Marshall county. These roads included: Summerville Road and Forest Forest Grove Road. More serious flooding occurred on Old Jordan Road, Gene Brown Road, and Needmore Road. In these locations, roads were closed and a few bridges were washed out. One of these bridges was White Oak Creek bridge, which crosses a portion of Slab Creek.
January 1997Thunderstorm WindDouglas$8,000no account filed
January 1997Thunderstorm WindDouglas$7,000no account filed
August 2023Thunderstorm WindDouglas$6,000Several trees were reported down int he Mount Hebron area near Douglas. Some trees fell on houses.
February 2025Thunderstorm WindDouglas$5,000Several trees were snapped and uprooted along Dyar Road between Mount Hebron Road and Old Jordan Road. Time estimated by radar.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindDouglas$5,000Fifty to sixty mph winds were reported and blew off some awning at a school.
May 2009FloodDouglas$5,000Heavy rainfall from strong to severe thunderstorms caused several roads to be flooded in eastern portions of Marshall county. These roads included: Summerville Road and Forest Forest Grove Road. More serious flooding occurred on Old Jordan Road, Gene Brown Road, and Needmore Road. In these locations, roads were closed and a few bridges were washed out. One of these bridges was White Oak Creek bridge, which crosses a portion of Slab Creek.
April 1997HailDouglas$5,000Hail the size of quarters was reported by a ham spotter in Douglas, in the south part of the county.
February 2025Thunderstorm WindDouglas$3,000Trees were snapped along New Clear Creek Road north of Mount Hebron Road. Time estimated by radar.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindDouglas$3,000Trees were reported down at the intersection of Concord road and highway 75.
February 2025Thunderstorm WindDouglas$2,000Multiple trees were knocked down along the 4200 block of Mount Hebron Road.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindDouglas$2,000Trees were knocked down on Bethleham Road.
June 2011Thunderstorm WindDouglas$2,000A tree was blown down on Woodum road.
August 2014Thunderstorm WindDouglas$1,000A tree was downed by thunderstorm winds.
April 2014Thunderstorm WindDouglas$1,000A tree was downed by thunderstorm winds on Mount Hebron road near Douglas, Alabama.
April 2011LightningDouglas$1,000Lightning struck a power pole in Albertville.
June 2018Thunderstorm WindDouglas$500A tree was knocked down across the highway near the intersection of Hambrick Road and New Clear Creek Road.
June 2017Thunderstorm WindDouglas$200A tree was knocked down near the intersection of Highway 75 and West Concord Road.
February 2025Tornado (EF1)Douglas-The tornado rapidly developed along a line of severe thunderstorms entering southwestern Marshall County, first snapping several softwood trees along Mount Hebron Road. The tornado continued along this road as it approached Mount Hebron Douglas Road, snapping large softwood branches along its path. The most concentrated damage occurred just northeast of the intersection with Mount Hebron Douglas Road, where several farm outbuildings and barns were destroyed. This was at and immediately east of the intersection with New Clear Creek Road. Here, a power pole was snapped about 5 to 7 feet from the top of the pole. Also at this location, a cattle trailer was overturned and moved several feet. A well-built farm outbuilding suffered collapsed walls at this location. The tornado continued northeast of this location to the farm next door, destroying a small hay barn and another farm outbuilding across the street. This particular building had a covered overhang and was open on the end where the tornado approached, which contributed to it's failing. Other damage was noted in the vicinity of Mount Hebron Road to the north and the south, which was mainly large branches blown down or sporadic trees that were broken. This was determined to be related to straight-line winds.
August 2023Thunderstorm WindDouglas-Trees were reported down on Bethleham road.
March 2017HailDouglas-Nickel sized hail was reported.
March 2017Thunderstorm WindDouglas-Several trees were knocked down.
March 2015HailDouglas-Quarter sized hail was reported on Highway 75 near the Blount County line.
March 2012HailDouglas-Quarter sized hail was reported.
March 2012HailDouglas-Hail up to quarter sized was reported.
May 2008Thunderstorm WindDouglas-Severe thunderstorm winds knocked down trees along highway 75 in the Douglas city limits.
June 2006HailDouglas-Nickel sized hail was reported in Nixon Chapel.
February 2005HailDouglas-Nickel size hail reported.
July 2004Thunderstorm WindDouglas-A few trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
November 2003Thunderstorm WindDouglas-A few trees were blown down by thunderstorm winds.
June 2003Flash FloodDouglas-flash flooding with water over horton road.

Every storm recorded in Marshall County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Reedbrake (historical)1.0 miles22
Horton2.4 miles22
Friendship (historical)2.6 miles22
Mount Hebron2.8 miles22
Bartlett (historical)3.6 miles22
Nixon Chapel3.9 miles23
Bowen (historical)4.2 miles23
Whitesville4.3 miles23

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on DouglasAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q66753The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 117427. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.